The New Zaleski's. . .

A new grocery store opened in Horizontina yesterday!! As excited as I was, it did remind me a little bit of WalMart:) All the weirdos even came out for the grand opening. Fortunately I wasn't wearing my pajama pants (yes, I'm a loser and did that all the time in Ottumwa), so I didn't feel like quite a weirdo. The new store is huge!! It was so clean and bright and orderly. All the shelves were neatly stocked and everyone wore a smile. It was exciting for this little town! All around the store were finger foods, coffee, lemonade and other drinks, little pizzas and croissants; we could have had a meal just by eating one of everything that was offered!! The store carries children's books, CDs, DVDs, toys and clothes. They also have a small flower shop. I'm pretty sure the only thing that's missing is a coffee shop, but at least they sell coffee:)

This might be my favorite section. . .

Maybe my second favorite sections. . . seriously, these people like their rice and beans! The fruit section was so clean and all the fruit looked fresh, which isn't always the case in grocery stores here. Depending on the fruit, it can be incredibly cheap.

What was I thinking? Not only did I let this Satan-looking clown hold my child a good ten feet off the ground, I had the nerve to pull out my camera, turn it on, adjust the zoom, and take not one, but two pictures of her with him!! Not a proud mommy-moment of mine. There were clowns all over the store and most of them looked similar to this one - a little on the freakish side of normal. Fortunately, Emma wasn't a bit intimidated. She even smiled at the clown after he let her down. As I was putting my camera away, I realized my heart was in my shoes, pounding 480 beats per minute and I was sweating profusely. OK, I was scared. Again, what was I thinking??

Emma has a bit of a liking for clown noses. This clown was so much more normal and kid-friendly. She was ecstatic that Emma could only understand English and felt the need to tell everyone around her. I felt a little awkward because there were other kids in the room and the clown just wanted to play with Emma. We ended up leaving so the other kids could play with her. Horizontina is a small town, so there really aren't many places to take Emma for fun. I enjoyed taking her to the new store and letting her play on all the toys. I think the new Zaleski's will be one of our weekly outings now!!